Notre Dame Spring Themes On Offense
After 11 practices of an allotted 15, second-year Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Chip Long provided a summary on some primary themes after Thursday’s practice:
1. The final piece to the offensive line Rubik’s Cube appears to be falling into place.
Finding answers on the left side to replace prospective first-round picks Quenton Nelson (guard) and Mike McGlinchey (tackle) has been a foremost priority.
It began this spring with sophomore Robert Hainsey shifting from right tackle to left tackle, backup senior center Trevor Ruhland (slowed by an injury) moonlighting at left guard and junior Tommy Kraemer, who alternated with Hainsey last year, staying at right tackle. The veteran mainstays were fifth-year seniors Sam Mustipher (center) and Alex Bars (right guard).
Later in the spring, Kraemer moved to left guard and Hainsey back to right tackle. Finally, a solution appears to be in place overall:
• Junior Liam Eichenberg has settled in and earned the crucial left tackle spot, where in all of head coach Brian Kelly’s eight seasons Notre Dame he has had a first-round or projected first-round selection: Zack Martin (2010-13), Ronnie Stanley (2014-15) and McGlinchey (2016-17). At 6-6, 303 pounds, Eichenberg provides a little more mass than Hainsey (6-4, 291).
“Liam Eichenberg coming on this spring has been huge,” Long said. “He’s just getting more and more confident every day. … His length and size really gives us an advantage out there. With your quarterback’s blind side you want to have a little bit more length, a little bit more girth so someone can’t just bull rush the quarterback from behind.
“If he’s getting bull rushed from the right, Brandon [Wimbush] can see it and take off running. You always want a little bit more length and size at the position.”
• Beginning with Thursday’s practice, Bars was moved to left guard so that a veteran three-year starter can be next to Eichenberg and take some of the pressure off him. Bars started two games at left guard in 2015 before starting all 12 games at right tackle in 2016 and all 13 at right guard in 2017.
Bars could become the first offensive lineman to start every game at three different positions in three different years at Notre Dame since first-round pick Art Hunter in 1951 (center), 1952 (end) and 1953 (tackle).
• Kraemer and Hainsey are now back to their more familiar and comfortable stances on the right side of the line, with Kraemer remaining at guard.
2. This season must become a breakthrough for senior tight Alizé Mack and junior wideout Chase Claypool.
Claypool and Mack have the most career receptions among current Irish players with 34 and 32, respectively, but the enigmatic duo with potential NFL futures can no longer live just off their physical potential.
“We’re still counting on him to grow,” Long said of Claypool. “He’s a great talent, but like a few other guys they’ve got to come on and find out what’s important for him. … When he decides he wants to be great, he’s going to be great.”
Mack is in his “contract year,” and a sense of urgency with him has been more conspicuous.
“Probably the most consistent he’s been since I’ve been here,” said Long, who coaches the tight ends. “He hasn’t had a bad day yet. … As long as he concentrates on daily devotion to his craft, all the things he wants will come his way.”
With top wideout Equanimeous St. Brown, top big-play threat Kevin Stepherson and most consistent 2017 tight end Durham Smythe all gone, the opportunities for Claypool and Mack will be much more abundant.
3. The company line about quarterbacks Brandon Wimbush and Ian Book progressing and competing is typical in any spring, but a main mission is to put them in adverse circumstances.
Creating false confidence is counter-productive. The spring is about developing good decision making skills in trying times.
“Keep putting them in tough situations where they can fight through, where then can get frustrated and learn from it,” said Long of what the quarterbacks, and entire offense, need to face now. “We can’t do enough of that, and Coach Kelly has done a great job of putting those guys this spring into some no-win situations where they have to figure it out. It’s been good. How are they going to react and learn from that?
“We’re going to play in some big-time ball games this next year and with a young [offense] we want those guys to understand how to handle that situation before we play.”
4. The quarterbacks going through unscripted situations is part of the growth, or the attempt to simulate adverse circumstances.
A lot of situational football such as the two-minutes drill with loud, piped-in music has been emphasized. Ad-libbing or literally thinking on the run without panicking is vital. Last spring that was absent because Long was getting the basics in with two inexperienced quarterbacks.
“One way to create adversity is not to script it in TEAM, just so they don’t have all day and can go through reads, game-like, in the moment,” Long said. “They have to go play with tempo and communicate. … Year one we had to get our install in, they had to learn the offense. These guys have a good base of the offense.
“Now it’s time to get out there and play as much as they can without the coaches on the field helping them out.”
One area that has been more gratifying to Long is the way the pass catchers have competed.
“[The quarterbacks] confidence is growing because the receiving corps is … everybody in the skill positions is making contested catches,” Long said. “I think last year you can count on one hand how many one-on-one contested balls we made. This year, it’s been good seeing guys lay out and making plays for quarterbacks.”
5. Sophomore Avery Davis’ progress has been a boost at the skill positions.
The No. 3 quarterback was a conspicuous figure in last Saturday’s open scrimmage where he was utilized effectively both as a running back and wideout. With the running back position, led by senior Dexter Williams and junior Tony Jones Jr., likely to have more of a committee feel than it did last year with Josh Adams, the 5-11, 203-pound Davis is providing a potentially promising third option.
The playbook is pared down a little more for him because of his inexperience at running back and receiver, but he possesses the needed qualities of a situational player.
“He’s an explosive young man who picks things up really quick,” Long said. “He has good instincts as a route runner … makes guys miss. He’s really kind of surpassed my expectations. I believe this last week he has been [our] most explosive player.”
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